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Comment on Brazilian president: US surveillance a 'breach of international law'

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Jeez! I can't believe the number of HN folks - people waaay above the average Internet commenting monkeys and nutjobs - attacking the messenger while completely missing the message.

Heck if all Rousseff said was just these two sentences, I'd still applaud her:

A sovereign nation can never establish itself to the detriment of another sovereign nation. The right to safety of citizens of one country can never be guaranteed by violating fundamental human rights of citizens of another country.

Yes, it's just a common view among US's elites; one poster called her, "Just another populist in South America". There's a context behind this.

The article mentioned, "She was imprisoned and tortured for her role in a guerilla movement opposed to Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s." The US supported the 1964 military coup, which put in place the Nazi-like security state which tortured her. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Brazilian_coup_d%27%C3%A9t...)

(And there's dissident lit from people who lived through these times, pointing out the domino effect this had for US intervention against other Latin American countries, emboldened by our success against Brazil. http://www.chomsky.info/talks/19850319.htm)

Jeez! I can't believe...

I concur.

attacking the messenger while completely missing the message

Yes, but who cares about some president of some South American former colony? Obviously a shady individual. If it was, say, Chancellor of Germany, now that's a serious matter and human rights are at stake :)

A sovereign nation can never establish itself to the detriment of another sovereign nation. The right to safety of citizens of one country can never be guaranteed by violating fundamental human rights of citizens of another country.

Now just apply that logic to individuals, and you'll be called a nutjob libertarian.

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